INGHAMS LAKES & MOUNTAINS NEWSLETTER: SUMMER 2015

NEW DESTINATIONS, CITY BREAKS, BOTANICAL GARDEN TOURS AND CYCLING HOLIDAYS

Inghams Lakes & Mountains programme offers a host of new holidays for summer 2015. Highlights include the introduction of stand-alone city breaks including Vienna, Innsbruck and Munich, new gentle cycling and scenic walking tours in Germany and Austria as well as a fresh focus on the glorious gardens of Italy, Germany and Switzerland.

NINE NEW DESTINATIONS TO EXPLORE

Inghams has introduced nine new destinations, two new Chalet Hotels and over 50 new partner hotels to its summer 2015 programme, many of which have been included in the programme at the special request of Inghams customers.

Lovers of Austria will welcome the introduction of Brand and Bürserberg, Scheffau and Bad Kleinkirchheim in Carinthia, while in Switzerland Hilterfingen on Lake Thun joins the programme. Inghams' Chalet Hotel concept continues to grow in popularity with Chalet Elisabeth in Lech joining the company's existing portfolio of chalet properties in Austria. In Italy, Inghams will feature two new lakes – Lake Orta, to the west of Lake Maggiore is one of Italy's smallest lakes and was described by the poet Robert Browning as where the 'Alps meet heaven' while Lake Ledro, set high above Lake Garda, is now offered as a resort in its own right. Also new in Italy are Maderno, between Gardone and Limone, and the walking centre of Champoluc located high in the Monte Rosa region where guests will stay at Inghams' delightful Chalet Hotel Breithorn.

The spa town of Crikvenica in Croatia is also new for this summer. With its bustling tree-lined promenade, Crikvenica is one of the most stunning resorts on the Kvarner Riviera and only 33km away from Rijeka. A seven-night stay in Crikvenica at the four-star Grand Kvamer Palace costs from £679pp on a half board basis including flights and airport transfers.

CITY BREAK HOLIDAYS
Inghams has always offered cities as add-ons to its Lakes & Mountains holidays, but now guests can book three or four-night stand-alone city breaks in Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Venice and Verona and Bergen and Alesund in Norway.A four-night Munich city break staying at the four-star Four Points Central Hotel on a bed and breakfast basis starts from £489pp based on two sharing including flights, resort transfers, travel card and guided tour with lunch at Munich's oldest brewery Der Pschorr.

GLORIOUS GARDENS
Inghams has produced a handy guide of popular gardens that are easily accessible from its Lakes & Mountains resorts including the Schynige Platte Botanical Alpine Gardens near Interlaken, Switzerland, Villa Carlotta on Lake Como and the Mirabell Gardens in Salzburg made famous in the Sound of Music film.

In addition, Inghams has introduced a new seven-night Gardens of Lake Constance tour including visits to the medicinal garden on Reichenau Island, the herb garden and labyrinth of the former monasteries and the world-famous flower island of Mainau. The special Lake Constance Gardens Excursion package, which includes multiple guided tours, entry to gardens and a regional travel pass as well as a regional guide to the gardens, costs £115pp and is available as an add-on to stays of seven nights or more at any Inghams hotel in Constance.

CYCLING, WALKING HOLIDAYS
For keen walkers Inghams has a new seven-night walking holiday based in Seefeld from £639pp including half board accommodation, flights, resort transfers, lift pass, four walks lead by Inghams' expert guides, guide books, daily packed lunch and weekly bus pass. Seefeld, nestled amid stunning mountain scenery on a scenic plateau, is a true hiker's paradise and deservedly one of Austria's best-loved summer resorts.

Summer 2015 also brings a host of new cycling options for Inghams guests from a four-hour tour of Desenzano del Garda in Italy from £35pp, which is bookable locally, to a gentle self-guided seven-night cycling holiday around Lake Constance from £879pp. In addition, many of Inghams' Austrian partner hotels offer guests the free use of bikes which includes electronic bicycle hire in selected hotels.

NEW NORWEGIAN, SLOVENIAN AND CANADIAN TOURS
In Norway Inghams is now offering a new seven-night Taste of Norway tour from £859pp which is perfect for first-timers. The tour combines three popular Norwegian destinations; Bergen with its historic harbour, the peaceful fjordside village of Balestrand on the Sognefjord, and the idyllic village of Ulvik. Furthermore Inghams' new 10 or 11-night Highlights of the Fjords tour starts from £979pp and captures the diverse regions of Norway from the city of Alesund situated directly on the Atlantic Ocean to Loen on the inner Nordfjord. Both tours include half-board three-star accommodation, flights, scenic transfers and guided wanderwalks.

Wine enthusiasts will enjoy Inghams' new three- and four-day Slovenian Wine Tours from £699pp which explore the Goriska Wine Region. This organised tour can be added on to a holiday on Lake Bled and includes four-star half-board accommodation, guided sightseeing walks, a farmer's picnic lunch and two wine tastings.

In Eastern Canada Inghams' new 14-night Rail & Cruise tour from £2,439pp takes in Toronto, Quebec and Montreal and includes a seven-night cruise on the mighty St. Lawrence River. The ever-popular Canadian Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver are featured in three new tours including the 10-night Peaks and Valley Tours from £2,469pp which includes flights, accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis, transfers as well as walking, cycling and wildlife viewing tours.

NEW TWIN-CENTRE OPTIONS
Inghams has added several twin-centre options to link mountain and lake resorts such as the following four new itineraries outlined below:

Lake Garda Highlights – South and North Lake Garda: Desenzano is the base for the first four nights before guests transfer  by leisurely lake steamer to Riva at the northern tip of the lake to spend a week in a three or four-star hotel. Saturday flights are available via Verona from £999pp including transfers, full day tour of the Dolomites and Venice plus a half day wine-tasting excursion.

Mountain Treasures – Italy + Austria: Enjoy a week surrounded by orchards and vineyards in Merano, high in the South Tyrol in Italy, followed by a week in Seefeld, Austria set on a sunny plateau above Innsbruck.

Peaks & Lakes Perfection – Austria + Germany: The Voralberg mountain resorts of Brand and Bürserberg in Austria are the base for week one in this itinerary, which is followed by a rail transfer to Germany to stay in either Lochau or Lindau on Lake Constance or to Constance itself, with its quaint frescoed old town.

Monte Bianco Discovery – France + Italy: Spend week one at the Chalet Hotel Sapinière in Chamonix before travelling to Inghams' new Chalet Hotel Breithorn in Champoluc. A highlight of the tour will be an en-route lunch at an Agriturismo Restaurant, the Maison Rosset, in historic Aosta.

For more information and packages visit www.inghams.co.uk
or call 01483 79 11 14

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